Broken
by SecondSkin
Summary: It starts with a not so innocent game of chess (not with the characters you'd expect), and leads to drama, anger, tears, broken bonds and perhaps even newly formed ones.
1. Chapter 1

** Hi! This is just a little author's note before I get started with the story. This is my first attempt at Harry Potter fanfiction, or any fanfiction for that matter, so I'm not sure how good it is, so I'd really appreciate any feedback people want to give me. I don't care what you say, you can even say it's completely horrendous and an insult to all writing and it should be deleted immediately, just anything so I know if people think it's worth continuing. Also, constructive criticism is very welcome. That's about all I've got to say, so I'll just get on with the story, but remember, please review! **

"I am undefeatable!" Ron announced triumphantly as his knight knocked over the opposing king, and Hannah Abbott regretfully passed across two Galleons and four Sickles.

"It's great that you won another game Ron, but it doesn't make you undefeatable." Hermione said as she glanced up from her copy of _Charms, Hexes and all other forms of Hocus-Pocus_.

"I think the defeated and these," Ron said, holding up his jingling bag of Knuts, Sickles and Galleons to Hermione, "beg to differ, 'Mione."

"I know you've won a lot Ron, I'm not denying that, but I'm just saying that a few games just against other students does not make you the greatest chess player to ever live." she said with a sigh as she set her book down on the table.

"Not yet at least." he said, grinning, even as she reprimanded his pride with a stern 'Ron!'

"Look at the facts Hermione. No one except Bill has ever beaten me, and that was only because I was only nine years old. I've never even come close to losing to anyone at Hogwarts. I dare say I'm the best chess player this school's ever seen."

"Ron, don't be ridiculous! You may be good, but you could not beat the likes of past students like Dumbledore." she said angrily.

"Well, 'Mione, if you think I'm no good why don't you play me? As I remember it, you've always backed down on any time I've asked you to play." he said, starting to get annoyed too.

"Ron! I am not going to play you, for such trivial reasons." she huffed and started to grab her bag to leave.

"Why? Because you know you'll lose, and prove me right?" he muttered darkly, making her stop as she was half-risen from her seat.

She looked down angrily at him in a way that would of normally made him immediately realise his wrongs and beg for forgiveness and mercy, but he was to blinded to see her properly.

"Fine, Ron. I'll play you, but whatever happens, it proves nothing, and this is just so you will be quiet about it." she said angrily as she crossed to the other side of the table, and sat down, and began arranging her chess pieces.

--o--

Her first feelings of regret came early on in the game, as her queen knocked out his bishop.

She could see the shock across his face, as he obviously hadn't even noticed the possibility of the attack, as he had been focused on the battle plan she had seen him execute so many times in so many games that she knew exactly how to play around it.

She glanced down at the Head Girl badge pinned neatly on the front of her robes, and shook her head lightly, wondering how she could of been so silly and rash to accept the game, when she had the duty of responsibility and a calm demeanor to live up to.

She looked across the table at Ron, whose eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he no doubt mentally plotted each move he could make, and what would result from them.

She bit her lip nervously as she watched his normally calm and happy, large brown eyes dart across the board thoughtfully, and saw his hand reach up to rake through his messy, bright red hair.

She suddenly separated herself from the game as she watched his movements, which she had grown so accustomed to, and dare she say it, perhaps even fond of in more than a friendly way, over the years.

She wished so dearly that she could use her time-turner to go back and tell herself to not accept the game, to just leave him happy and triumphant, as unbearably cocky as it also made him, so that she could be sitting on his side of the table, watching him verse another person.

Her feelings changed however as he suddenly commanded his remaining bishop to eradicate the knight which was guarding her king, and looked up at her triumphantly and challengingly and said loudly, "Check!"

She closed her eyes momentarily before she glanced down at the board, calculating.

This, she reminded herself, was why she had to verse him, and defeat him.

He had become so cocky and proud lately, with all his victories, and the Galleons, Sickles and Knuts he had jingling around in his pockets that he had for his own free spending for a change, that she almost felt like half the time he wasn't the Ron she had known the past years.

Deep down she knew she should of left him to his victories, because, unlike Harry, she could see quite clearly how Ron would feel crowded out and inferior, as Harry was still the house's Quidditch star, even if the fact that he was the famous Harry Potter was ignored, and she was the mental superior of possibly every other student in the school, but still, she could not let it pass.

Perhaps, she had realised one time, that it was the vague feeling that she had that she had deeper feelings for him that made her want to squash all the negative ways of him, or perhaps she just could not stand seeing him be even like Malfoy in his pride.

Either way, she felt and knew she had to stop his pride, even if it meant squashing it completely.

It was with that final thought that she commanded her queen to attack again, this time against his castle, and she watched almost sadly as a realization dawned on his face without her even having to say the words.

He looked across the board at her, unbelieving, challenging and almost begging her at the same time to confirm what he thought.

"Check mate."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, this is just going to be a really quick author's note, I swear. I just wanted to say a massive thankyou to everyone who reviewed the story already. You don't know how surprised I was to find ten reviews for just the first chapter! Thankyou so much, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Oh, also one last note- I'm sorry if you don't like how I portray Ron in this, but there's gotta be a bad guy, right? And I will explain it all in time.**

She looked across at him quietly.

"I'm sorry Ron," she said finally as his expression remained blank and disbelieving, "It's just that you-"

"I what?" he snapped at her angrily, making her flinch a little.

"I had to be shown that I can't be good at anything, that there's always going to be someone better than me out there? Well thanks 'Mione for showing me that, because I could've never learned that without you, and I couldn't of been happy without knowing it either." he continued angrily, standing up on his last words as he looked at her, his eyes clouded with various emotions that Hermione could barely make out.

She looked up at him steadily, although she was breathing rapidly, as her eyes flitted between his eyes, trying to make out the emotions swimming underneath.

Anger was obvious- he was absolutely teeming with it, and not just in his eyes, but there were other things as well...

Embarrassment, perhaps, she thought, as she also saw his eyes momentarily glance around at the various other seventh years who had been seated around in the Great Hall, watching as Ron versed other people, and particularly as he versed Hermione.

Still, there was also something else there that she couldn't quite make out, that she wanted to know, though she didn't have to wonder on it for long as it suddenly hit her, when he flung the open bag of money at her, allowing coins to clutter out onto the board, table and floor.

He was shamed.

But, just when she realised, her emotions also turned and she couldn't care.

"Oh, Ron, don't be so bloody melodramatic!" she said angrily as she also stood up, letting the coins that had fallen onto her lap fall onto her seat and the ground.

"Who's being melodramatic?" he asked in false questioning, "I'm just telling it like it is."

"But you don't have to yell it like you're a two year old who hasn't gotten their way, or throw money around." She said frankly as she also absentmindedly started gathering the coins scattered on the table together.

"So now you're saying I'm stupid like a two year old, too?" he snapped as he briskly reached down and grabbed his bag while she looked at him, disbelieving, "Well I guess then you won't want me around you anymore, seeing as I'm so obviously intellectually inferior to you!"

"Ron! Don't twist my words around like that! That's not what I meant at all!" she began, but it was too late, as he had already stormed out of the Great Hall.

She thudded back down into her seat, angrily pushing the coins out from under her as the people who had crowded around nervously edged away.

She sighed as she rested her head in her hands.

Part of her was feeling guilty, because she really had known that she should have let Ron win, but as another part of her reminded, that would have only made him worse.

Of course, maybe if she'd realised he was such a sore loser she would have left him be, seeing it seemed she'd ruined more than his chess title in that simple game...

"Hermione, are you okay?" someone asked next to her, and she glanced to the side to see Ginny looking concerned.

Hermione nodded as she suddenly realised that her hands were damp from her eyes, and she was sniffling, and wiped her face with her robe sleeve before nodding again.

"I... I guess. I just, he took it all the wrong way, Gin." She said nervously, as she sat up and looked at Ginny properly.

Ginny was nodding slightly in the understanding manner that she had developed over the years and had used to comfort Hermione many times, as the two had become very close of late.

It wasn't really clear to either of them when they had moved from acquaintances through Ron, to personal friends, although Hermione was consciously aware that she had been turning to Ginny more in the last year, as she found more and more things difficult to talk to Harry and Ron about.

It wasn't a one-sided relationship though, as Ginny had often come to Hermione for the wise words she admired in her, particularly when Luna gave her ridiculous and vague advice, like 'Just do what your heart tells you, whatever path it may lead you down, and wherever it should take you, lest your mind says otherwise'.

Hermione smiled vaguely to herself as she thought of the last time that she'd really had a deep talk to Ginny.

It had been on the train ride to school that year, and Ginny had asked Hermione to come to the bathroom with her.

She had spilled out a question that both confused and amused Hermione as soon as they were away from the compartment- Did Hermione like Harry?

Hermione hadn't realised the insensitivity of laughing at the question until the hurt and confused look on Ginny's face, to which she had had to respond sensibly with "Of course not, we're just good friends. And even if I did, I know he's much more interested in someone else."

Soon after, Hermione had been glad to find out that Harry and Ginny were an 'item', and still were happily close, despite Ron's uneasiness about it all.

"You know why he did it though, don't you?" Ginny said, suddenly stirring Hermione from her thoughts, as she looked across at her, confused.

"What?"

"You know why Ron has been so proud about chess, don't you?" she repeated.

"Because he enjoys winning?" Hermione tried, although Ginny shook her head disbelievingly.

"You have to know, Hermione. You're the smartest witch in this whole school. You cannot seriously not see it." Ginny said, and Hermione noticed there was almost begging in her voice, as if she was praying the she understood.

Hermione however couldn't help her, as she looked at her confused.

"Know what?" was all she could ask.

Ginny sighed again, and looked at Hermione one last time as if to check that she wasn't just joking.

When she saw clearly that Hermione was perfectly serious in her misunderstanding, she looked at her squarely and said words that shook Hermione's mind, and unbalanced her world.

"He's been doing it all to impress you. Hermione, he likes you."


End file.
